Barry Lane ready for another battle at the MCB Tour Championship
The John Jacobs Trophy title might already be wrapped up by Roger Chapman, but there is still plenty at stake at the season-ending MCB Tour Championship, slated to start from December 7, 2012.
A number of players will tee off next month, in a bid to finish the season on a high note, by improving their positions in the Order of Merit.
Barry Lane, who currently ranks second in the list, is confident to retain his spot, till the end of the 2012 European Seniors Tour season.
Last year, he entered the season finale with just €25,569 behind the leader, Peter Fowler. At the end of the week, he finished two strokes better than Fowler.
Still, he had to settle for the second position, as he was not able to earn enough money to displace his rival on the top.
This year, he has a completely different target in front of him. He will be contending to retain his second position in the standings, especially when Tim Thelen, ranked third, is enjoying a great run of form on the tour.
Thelen has won a total of three Seniors Tour titles this season and is being considered as one of the hot favourites for a win in the tournament.
If the American veteran star succeeds in finishing the tournament on top of the leaderboard, he will replace Lane at the second spot.
According to the golf commentators, it will be a tough competition between both the players, as Lane also holds a strong track record in the past few tournaments that he played this season.
He has recorded four top-10 finishes in the last six tournaments that he played, including a victory at the Speedy Services Wales Senior Open.
Fowler, in the meantime, holds the fourth spot in the standings this year, which speaks of his admirable efforts to defend the John Jacobs Trophy that he won in Mauritius last year.
The defending champion Tom Lehman has also confirmed to participate in the event this year. The American became the first player in the history of the Champions Tour to win the Charles Schwab Cup in two consecutive years.
He won the prestigious award last year and successfully defended his crown with a victory at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship earlier this month.
"It was a great week from start to finish," Lehman said after winning the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. "Absolutely, I played some of my best golf of the year. I'm very, very fortunate and thankful to be able to kind of bring my best when I needed it”.
“Tom Lehman had a fantastic year and a very good week,” added Bernhard Langer. “He deserves to win. He deserves to be the champion. When it was necessary he put the pedal to the metal and that's what it takes”.
Therefore, he will also be a man to watch at next month’s prestigious tournament that will be held at Constance Belle Mare Plage.
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